US Ship Fires On Egyptian Ship in Suez Canal

[vyo476]

Me, I just think the name of this particular US ship is deeply ironic. Otherwise, it's more or less a tragic accident. We'll still be feeling backlash from it, though, so...comments?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080325/ap_on_re_mi_ea/egypt_us_navy

PS: Apologies for my inactivity of late. Life got intense for a little while out here. I hope I'll be back approaching my previous level of involvement now, but we'll see.

 

[Libsmasher]

Me, I just think the name of this particular US ship is deeply ironic. Otherwise, it's more or less a tragic accident. We'll still be feeling backlash from it, though, so...comments?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080325/ap_on_re_mi_ea/egypt_us_navy

PS: Apologies for my inactivity of late. Life got intense for a little while out here. I hope I'll be back approaching my previous level of involvement now, but we'll see.

I don't get the irony, rather, it sounds highly appropriate - the US will defend itself from apparent attacks anywhere in the world. There are unanswered questions - was the ship clearly marked as temporarily in effect a military vessel? Was the small boat warned off? Remember this was how the USS Cole was attacked.

 

[BigRob]

I don't get the irony, rather, it sounds highly appropriate - the US will defend itself from apparent attacks anywhere in the world. There are unanswered questions - was the ship clearly marked as temporarily in effect a military vessel? Was the small boat warned off? Remember this was how the USS Cole was attacked.

And recall the recent incidents with the Iranian revolutionary guard

 

[Andy]

Perhaps I am cynical, but it reminds me of an Arab-Israel battle where a father and son were caught in the crossfire, and the PLO shot the pair and blamed Israel for it.

I can't help but wonder if that happened here since the sailors on our ship accounted for each shot fired as it hit the water.

 

[vyo476]

I don't get the irony, rather, it sounds highly appropriate - the US will defend itself from apparent attacks anywhere in the world. There are unanswered questions - was the ship clearly marked as temporarily in effect a military vessel? Was the small boat warned off? Remember this was how the USS Cole was attacked.

The irony lies in the fact that America's "global" image is precisely what most foreigners dislike about us, and now a ship called the "Global Patriot" kills an Egyptian in the Suez Canal. I didn't mean the statement as a criticism, simply an observation.

As for whether the ship was marked - doesn't look like it, from the two photos on Yahoo (here and here). Could easily be that I'm missing something, but from the photos it looks just like a civilian boat.

 

[Libsmasher]

The irony lies in the fact that America's "global" image is precisely what most foreigners dislike about us, and now a ship called the "Global Patriot" kills an Egyptian in the Suez Canal. I didn't mean the statement as a criticism, simply an observation.

What foreigners don't like about us is that we're big, powerful, and occasionally take out dictatorships.

As for whether the ship was marked - doesn't look like it, from the two photos on Yahoo Could easily be that I'm missing something, but from the photos it looks just like a civilian boat.

Of course, the boat that approached and blew up the USS Cole looked like a civilian boat. We don't know all the facts, and hopefully the US and the Egyptian canal authorities had some kind of agreement about small boats approaching US military ships, but maybe not.

 

[BigRob]

The irony lies in the fact that America's "global" image is precisely what most foreigners dislike about us, and now a ship called the "Global Patriot" kills an Egyptian in the Suez Canal. I didn't mean the statement as a criticism, simply an observation.

As for whether the ship was marked - doesn't look like it, from the two photos on Yahoo (here and here). Could easily be that I'm missing something, but from the photos it looks just like a civilian boat.

It is a civilian boat that was being contracted by the Navy.

 

[Andy]

It was a civilian boat under short term contract. However I would wager they had military flags flying on it. I also think that a bull horn warning to stay away with someone threatening a US military response, should have been sufficient, don't you think? Or no?

 

[Libsmasher]

It was a civilian boat under short term contract. However I would wager they had military flags flying on it. I also think that a bull horn warning to stay away with someone threatening a US military response, should have been sufficient, don't you think? Or no?

Yes, but one wonders if the same mentality is operative whereby iraqi civilians drive full speed at US army checkpoints, not stopping till they're shot no matter what warning is attempted.

 

[Andy]

Yes, but one wonders if the same mentality is operative whereby iraqi civilians drive full speed at US army checkpoints, not stopping till they're shot no matter what warning is attempted.

Which is exactly why they fired warning shots at the boat. I fully support this. I still doubt it was one of ours that killed the guy.